Prior to the real estate bust, cost and mobility made renting a house a better deal than owning. But the equation is changing

Four years ago, Michael Choe appeared in the pages of this magazine for doing something spectacular: choosing to be a renter. At a time when real estate riches were Topic A ("Home $weet Home," read the TIME cover line), the engineer, from Sacramento, Calif., decided to sell his house and move with his wife and baby boy into a rental. "Compared to owning, rent is cheap," he said back then.

Exceedingly smart move. Since the summer of 2005, house prices in Sacramento have plummeted by half. Choe and his family  which now includes a second son...